Chesney Shows He Has Horse Sense

Names & Faces

July 30, 2001|By Detroit Free Press

Since releasing his first album 1993, Kenny Chesney has toured tirelessly, made countless radio and TV appearances and sweated his way through music videos clad in everything from swimming trunks to bib overalls in an effort to sell his music and raise his visibility.

But credit for much of the visibility and goodwill he's enjoying on his tour this summer with country star Tim McGraw -- which will roll into Tampa's Ice Palace on Saturday -- goes to a horse named Chico and a couple of angry cops from Buffalo, N.Y.

Chesney and McGraw were arrested in June 2000 in Buffalo after a tussle with police outside the stadium where they were performing with George Strait. Chesney was atop Chico, a law officer's horse Chesney says he was given permission to ride, when an officer tried to pull him off the animal. A scuffle followed, and Chesney was charged with disorderly conduct. McGraw was charged with third-degree assault and other misdemeanors.

"We hate that it happened," says the singer, 33. "It wasn't like Tim and I set out to break the law intentionally -- and we didn't break the law."

When the case went to trial this May in Buffalo, it became a media event. Throngs of loyal fans were on hand every day to cheer on their heroes, as was McGraw's wife, Faith Hill. Chesney and McGraw were acquitted.

"I wish we hadn't had to go through all that," Chesney says. "But it didn't hurt my visibility."

"Still," he chuckles, "it's no fun to go to jail."

Chesney's victory in court is one of several triumphs he's enjoying this year. His Greatest Hits album is entrenched in the Top 10 on Billboard's country chart after debuting at No. 1 last fall, and "Don't Happen Twice," a single from the album, became his fourth No. 1 Billboard hit.

But his rise has hardly been meteoric. Chesney's first two albums enjoyed only modest success, and it wasn't until the late '90s that he began making it big on country radio with hits such as "She's Got It All" and "How Forever Feels."

The singer now says the slow start was a good thing.

"You know the saying: `Take off like a rocket and fizzle like a rocket,' " he says. "Early on, I wished I had taken off like a rocket, but I don't now. I wouldn't trade with anybody."